i have a cookie named MVCID that's set and its value is some generated hash. when i write this
setcookie("MVCID","", time()-60*60*24);
and load the page, not only is the contents of the cookie not being erased but it also isn't dying.
what can be the possible problem? this isnt the first time this is happening.
ps: im also trying this on an empty page with no other code but this and it still wont die.
Are you calling this function before outputting any HTML? That's a known foible of the call since cookies have to appear in the HTTP header.
You might want to also check the time on the client side. Even though you're setting to expire one day ago, it's possible that the clock skew might be greater (if times aren't set correctly).
And I prefer to populate all parameters rather than relying on defaults (which can change based on many things).
In addition, you may want to check the return code although I have no idea how it could fail, something like:
<?php
$ret = setcookie("MVCID","", time()-60*60*24);
?>
<html>
<head></head>
<body>
Hello<br>
<pre>
<?php
print_r ($ret);
?>
</pre>
</body>
</html>
Failing that, you may need to have a look at what's going on at the wire level. In other words, examine the HTTP response to ensure there's a Set-Cookie in the HTTP headers and examine the actual values being passed along with it.
And one last trick to try: delete the cookie totally and exit from the browser (some of them cache in memory). Then try again. If the PHP setcookie is not working then no cookie will be created - the one you have that's not being changed or expired may be left over from a previous successful variant of your code.